There's a point you reach in life where you aren't satisfied with the work you've been doing.

A day comes when you want to influence others with your...

[insert here]

art. writing. work. job. volunteering. music. photos. words. time. effort. life.

Then you work hard. Really hard. There are good days. There are great days. There are tough days.

You pour your heart out. Working. Trying. Doing.

That's when it happens.

The doubt.

Ohhh. The doubt.

It's that evil little thing that creeps in when you least expect it.

Like that person in your life when everything is going great and then they remind you of the faults in your past.....

Hey thanks!

I really needed that right now.

It's times like these I like to remember happy times.

Life forming times.

Times that make me laugh.

Like that time when I was in high school and my dad asked some of us to do some yard work in the back of the house. No big deal, right? But we hated it. It was Washington State. It was cold. It's no fun being cold.

Well, I was 16 and that magical, sunshine and cupcakes exterior of mine slowly started to fade and I looked around at the two other siblings that were raking leaves.

We just happened to be the three adopted ones of the family.

I slowly started to formulate a plan. A way for us to retreat. The words started floating into my brain and I said:

"Hey. Notice something? We're the only ones out here working. The adopted ones.
You know that's why they adopted us right? To do all the work."

Now before I continue, I want to share something:
I was adopted by very loving, giving parents.
This was a pure coincidence that the adopted siblings were working outside.
But, man was I going to capitalize on it.

My sister looked at me with wide eyes and clearly wasn't understanding my sarcastic humor.
​My brother wouldn't look up from raking the leaves and simply said:

"I know. I was made for hard labor."

Not even a second later I hear a voice behind me. My dad.

"Violet. In the house. NOW."

Needless to say, I had a good talking to and reminder of my words and how they affect others.

Every word. Even the words I don't think do anything: will.

I'm also reminded that every great thing is prefaced by hard work.

It's those times when I don't think I'm doing anything effective and meaningful; I'm slowly trudging forward one step at a time.

It's that doubt and fear that shows me what I'm meant to do.

I won't forget that.
​
I hope you don't either.

I was fourteen.

It was 1995.

I was ironing my skirt for school the next day 
(yes. I wore skirts to school. 
I went to a private school. 
yes. it sucked. 
I love you mom & dad!) 

and my dad said to me, 

"Let's go. We're going to go see Toy Story at the movies. I think you'll like it!'

I looked at him the way any fourteen year old girl who has way to many hormones surging though her body and gave him a glare and said, 

"that cartoon movie? it's a kid movie, Dad."

Without flinching he responded, 

"let's go. we're leaving right now."

Like any other respectable fourteen year old girl, I had a deep fear of missing out on something. 

So, naturally I went along for the ride.

As we left the theater, my dad asked,

"what did ya think?'

I said, 

"It was REALLY good!
 I was expecting a cartoonish movie, but it was great!
 I almost cried during one moment of it."

Fast forward fifteen years.

My husband and I took our daughter to her first film in a theater:

Toy Story 3. 

She was three at the time. 

I think I was more excited about the fact that it was a "complete circle."

What meant more to me than anything was the fact we were taking my daughter to a film from the same franchise that meant so much to me 15 years before. 

That my parents took me to the first film and now I was taking my daughter to the third film.

AND she gets to experience it. 

She gets to see and hear the story.

I cried three times.

That's what I love about Pixar.

They excel at storytelling. 

The quality of the 3-D animation is incredible.

But what makes the films by Pixar work is the STORY.

People who watch their movies get emotionally drawn in and taken in by what their films bring to the screen through the writing. 

It reaches people at the core. 

At their heart.

It's all in the story.

Want to read more about Pixar, their "22 ways of Storytelling, and get a free ebook on it?

click on the link below.

http://nofilmschool.com/2013/12/pixars-22-rules-of-storytelling-free-ebook

Saturdays are awesome.

We wake up late. Eat breakfast late. Stay in our pj's late.

This past weekend we watched The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King with our daughter.
She hadn't seen it and was very excited to see the movie.

What I was love is that she had the chance to watch a film with a strong, female character: Eowyn. Tolkien writes the roles of his characters incredibly well and he writes his women beautifully.

In an era when men had a higher place in society (the 50's/ midcentury) and had more civil rights than women---

Tolkien wrote his women strong, resilient and breathtaking.

I've always been grateful for this, especially now having a daughter. A daughter who loves princesses and happy endings. I want her to have great examples of what a strong woman should be. I want her to watch cinema & read books about women who aren't weak or need something or someone to complete her. I want her to see characters who fall in love, but find love that requites strength, honor and respect. I want her to know about women who inspire me and my hope is that she is inspired, too.

There's this scene at the end of The Return of the King, where the Eowyn, the niece of the king, is in front of the Nazgul also known as The Witch King of Angmar. He's a terrible beast. The pure embodiment of everything evil, that this world or the next has to offer.

In Tolkien lore, it was written as a prophetic caution:

"Do not pursue him [the Nazgul}
.....and not by the hand of any man shall he fall."

Disguised as a warrior, fighting for Middle Earth, Eowyn confronts the Nazgul as he is about to kill her uncle--the only living father figure she has:

Eowyn isn't without fear. You can see it in her eyes.

This is what I love about this scene. She has fear....

but she stares that fear in the face and overcomes it.

We all have fears. Every single one of us.

Even the ones that say they don't have any fear:

have fear.

When Eowyn is facing the beast and uncertain death; the Nazgul says to her:

"You fool. No man can kill me."

She responds with courage:

"I am NO man."

But what Eowyn is saying silently ---in her actions & her eyes:

"I will not run from my fear. I will stand here and defeat my fear."

This is why I'm grateful for Tolkien and his literature.

As a measure of thanks, Mr. Tolkien---

• thank you for creating women who are strong and resilient.
• thank you for creating women who stand in the face of fear and overcome it.
• thank you for creating women who aren't measured by what society expects of them, but live by their morals and convictions.
• thank you for creating women who are incredibly feminine and incredibly badass.
• thank you for creating women who can slay and destroy something that no man could.
• thank you for creating women who don't retreat and fall away when a man doesn't reciprocate the same affection-- but wait and hope for a man that is willing to love & mutually respect her.
• thank you for creating women who are proud of where they came from.
• thank you for creating women who not only know how to fight, but also love.

and thank you, Mr. Tolkien--

for creating women who inspire me and in turn will inspire my daughter.

I work with a lovely soul. Her name is Catherine. 
She's never shared her age but I'm guessing she is in her mid to late 70's.
She gathers carts, cleans the bathrooms and has the sweetest Georgia peach accent.

My kids and I ran into her today in the parking lot of my work today when we were getting groceries. 

I introduced her to my children and we started chatting like we always do. 

What I love about Catherine is every time I talk with her I get to hear a story about her life.

About her experiences.

Today as we were talking, the warm Washington summer sun warmed our faces.

I put the kids in the car and started the air conditioning.

as I put my groceries in my car, she shared with me she that wants to get back

to the South soon to see her husbands grave. 

I asked her: "How did he pass away, Catherine?"

She shared with me her story:

"He was in Vietnam. We had four boys before he left. He was in the Infantry (the very first line of defense in the military). He loved our country and loved to serve it. He was there only 15 days when he died."
I asked her,
"Did you have a feeling before he left he wouldn't make it?"
She said, 
"Oh, yes we both knew. We both knew.... but accepted it. 
We went to Hawaii; the two of us for 10 days to be together before he left.
It was a beautiful time. We cried. We grieved. We said goodbye.
I knew the night he died over there. I felt it in my heart. 
The next day a military commander came to my door and I told him, 
"don't tell me. I already know." 
The hardest part was telling my boys. Telling them they wouldn't have a father anymore."

Her story brought tears to my eyes. I could see that she loved him, and still does. 

Even after 40 or so years, since he had passed. 

I could tell his life meant something to her and who he was.

This is why I love storytelling.

I love hearing stories from others. What they have lived through. What they have experienced. 

How they dealt with the cards that were handed to them. 

Sharing your story humanizes who you are. It puts humanity to who you are, so others can see it.

Far so often, I've seen (in my life and others) when we hold in our stories, we keep something from the world. We keep something that can be taught, learned or experienced by others. We keep our authenticity from others; the depth of our soul from others. 

What could have held my sweet friend Catherine down; was the very thing that inspired me to write what she shared with me, and what inspires others today with who she is. 

She's not holding on to it, but giving it away.

Share your story. Share it with others. Share it with the world.

You never know who you will inspire.

"The very things that held ya down are gonna carry ya up, and up, and up!"
-Timothy O. Mouse {Disney's Dumbo. 1941}

I visited a chiropractor today. For sciatica. Yes, THAT sciatica that I'm sure you've heard your grandmother or grandfather mention to you from sitting to long or from falling. 

Found out today, sciatica can stem from other things too. Like a sports injury. Mine is a result of running when I shouldn't be, lifting weights on knees that really shouldn't be bearing weight. 

A result of long jumping in high school. Running hard and jumping off of my right foot and landing hard on my left foot. And for being OLD. 34 is old. Seriously. It is.

Sitting at the doctor's office today got me thinking how I ended up in track & field. 

How I happened to fall into the field event: long jump.

I've shared before here how in my junior year of high school I took up basketball at my small school. After one of my games, a older gentleman with white hair-- physically fit, kind, with an understanding voice walked up to me. He was at the game to see his granddaughter play (she was a teammate of mine). 

He asked me, 

"Have you ever considered trying out for our track team? I coach the team with my daughter (the wife of my basketball coach) and we could really use your speed in the 4x100 meter & 4x200 meter relays." 

I told him I had never really thought of it. I shared with him that my younger brother was on the track team the year before and how I thought it would be fun. 

He told me he would be expecting me the first day of practice. 

I showed up with all the sprinters (turns out there are some benefits of being short and having strong legs) and started running 100 meters that were timed by the coach. We were asked to run the 100 meters a couple more times to try to beat out our previous time. 

side note**
I've never been one who likes competing with others. 

I have this philosophy that is simply put: 

"can't we all just get along and be FRIENDS?!"

As it turns out, in the real world-- not everybody gets along with everyone. And not everyone wants to be my friend. That's cool and all, but in my mind I think-- 

"WHY the HECK NOT?!" 
​
** future writing piece in the making**

I loved the fact that track pushed me to beat my best. Individually. To strive to be faster, stronger & better than what I was before. Track and field taught me how to work at striving & training harder to beat my own personal best. 

This was when I fell in love with track & field and running.

My track coach walked up to me during one practice soon after and said, 

"I want you to test for the long jump."

I kind of stared at him for a while, thinking he was joking. I mentioned that I thought long jump was for people with long legs (get it, LONG JUMP?) who could actually jump. Both of which I received the low end of the gene pool on. 

He went on to correct my way of thinking.

"Long jump is based on how far you can jump with two feet placed together on the line before the sand pit. Not jumping up or with one foot. With both feet together at once. Another factor is being able to sprint. Hard." 

So with his confidence I tried out for long jump. I ended up out jumping every girl on my team. Even the girls with the long legs. Even the girls who had been on the team since they were in the 8th grade. I ended up going not only to State competition for the long jump, but going to Tri-State the first and only year I was in track & field. 

I'm thankful for my coach to this day. He saw potential in me that I never could see. Just from simply watching me run. Just from observing. He had confidence in me and what I could accomplish, even when I had accomplished nothing. That influence has stuck with me throughout all these years. 

This memory of influence--of confidence in my potential; helps me remember:

When I don't feel like I have what it takes with writing, when I think of the education I don't have, when I think of my lack of experience--

What I accomplished back then. 

When I had zero experience. When I had zero confidence in myself.

The faith someone had in me,

that someone believed---

I could accomplish it.

I love how there are things in life that can take us somewhere. 

Back to a place we've remember years ago.

To a place we've never been. 

To a memory. 

A song can be like that for me. Wonderwall by Oasis takes me back to when I was 17 driving in my 1981 Chevy two-tone red and black Blazer, driving home from a basketball game. Mariah Carey's Always Be My Baby brings me back to when my husband I were dating; singing it together, laughing and smiling.

A scent can be like that for me. Popcorn takes me to a time when my parents would bring us to the Western Washington State Fair when we would walk around, riding the fair rides with my brothers. Fresh cut grass takes me to the first home I lived with my adoptive parents; stepping outside in the backyard during the crisp, summer nights. Swinging on the homemade swings my dad made for us. 

Film has always taken me places, too. It's always been my white rabbit.

I love how in film-- a movie, takes me to a place, invites me on a journey. A journey that I may have never been on or one I have been on a million times. I like to follow that journey to escape life. I like to follow that journey to gain creativity and thought that I may not have had before. It brings me memories of times I've forgotten. It's taken me to another universe where you can choose the red pill or the blue pill. It's taken me to 18th century England, where women relied on marriage to survive for the rest of their life. It's taken me to Frank Capra's pre-World War 2, where a man who wishes his life away because he looses what he thinks matters most in this world, then finds out-- 

no man is a failure who has friends.

I think that's why I love screenwriting.

It's the words on the page that transform to screen that are projected before our very eyes.

It's in the writing. That's the beginning of the journey. 

It's the start of it all. 

what is YOUR white rabbit? 

what do you follow to that place of creativity? 

2010. My husband and I were married for 9 years when we decided to take a road trip with our daughter, who was 2 at the time, up to the Sonoma wine country. We had the best time on that vacation, which was much needed for our small family. 

My husband was searching for a job in church ministry at the time. It was right after the fall of the housing market and recession. We lived in Arizona at the time, which was one of the hardest hit places in the nation. We needed respite, we needed time together as a family. We needed great memories together during a very disheartening time in our life. 

We drove up to Sonoma wine country through the endless landscape of vineyards and stayed in a little town called Santa Rosa. It's a beautiful town; quiet, welcoming and quaint. We visited wineries in the area, The Frances Ford Coppola estate which housed many pieces from the film The Godfather (my husband's absolute favorite film of all time) and Chateau Montelena, a vineyard that was a location of a film we loved. We found a hotel in Santa Rosa that was an renovated 1960's establishment, the owner kept that same mid century design and feel to the decor. The hotel had this stunning ambiance when you walked through the front doors. It was a swanky place that at one time housed vintage movie stars on holiday from the haunts of Southern California. 

When we settled in, we were warmly welcomed by some local families there, sharing with us the necessary places to dine and visit. We ate dinner at one of the recommended places, a delicious Italian restaurant with possibly the most unbelievable glass of red wine I've ever had. We sat out by the pool every night, eating appetizers and drinking tasty drinks. We listened to the local band as they played soft music. My daughter and I lounged out in our bikinis watching the birds fly overhead. It was like time stood still. Just for a moment. 

We walked around this picturesque town and discovered that it was where the cartoonist of the Peanuts characters, Charles Shultz, retired and lived his last days. I've always loved his drawings and the art deco feel to his work. All over Santa Rosa there are these artistic statue renderings of the Peanuts characters. There is a museum placed at the center of the town honoring his life work. 

We fell in love with this charming place at time when we needed a little hope. Our time there was perfect during a place of crossroads in our life, when we needed to take our mind off of what was going on in our life back home. It brought a small amount of whimsy to a trying time in our life. It came at a time when we needed to feel welcome somewhere. It gave our family a brief moment; a brief moment that everything was wonderful and perfect in our world. 

I'll never forget our time in Santa Rosa. When I think of a brief moment that brought our family wonderful memories during a time when we needed it, I think of this captivating place. I think of Santa Rosa.

I like to remember Santa Rosa when there are moments in my life that aren't going the way I think it should. I like to remember our time in Santa Rosa when I need a bit of respite from life. I like to remember Santa Rosa when I need a little hope. 

Thank you, Santa Rosa. 

Thank you for the memories.

"Stretch the circle WIDER."

Have you ever taken one of those personality tests? You know those ones that tell you what you already know about yourself?  And after you take that personality test you can slap that paper on the table in front of everyone you know and exclaim, 

"SEE?! I TOLD YOU SO." 

I took one of those personality tests about a year ago. 

It was called StrengthsFinder. 

It's an incredible personality test distributed by the scientists of the GALLUP poll & the Father of Strengths Psychology: Donald O. Clifton. This particular personality test has 34 themes that your personality can fit into. It basically gives you your top 5 personality themes that apply to you, your life, career and relationships around you. It helps you discover your natural talents and helps reveal to others around you who you are. ON PAPER. Which is awesome.

One of my top strengths is INCLUDER.

Here's what the Gallup website shares about the qualities of an INCLUDER:

"Stretch the circle wider." 

This is the philosophy around which you orient your life. You want to include people and make them feel part of the group. In direct contrast to those who are drawn only to exclusive groups, you actively avoid those groups that exclude others. You want to expand the group so that as many people as possible can benefit from its support. You hate the sight of someone on the outside looking in. You want to draw them in so that they can feel the warmth of the group. You are an instinctively accepting person. Regardless of race or sex or nationality or personality or faith, you cast few judgments. Judgments can hurt a person's feelings. Why do that if you don't have to? Your accepting nature does not necessarily rest on a belief that each of us is different and that one should respect these differences. Rather, it rests on your conviction that fundamentally we are all the same. 

We are all equally important. Thus, no one should be ignored. Each of us should be included. It is the least we all deserve.

When I read this I shouted to myself internally: "YES! That's what I'm talking about!"

In a way it was slightly comical to be told what I already know. But in a weird and relieving way it was refreshing to hear that it was true: how I thought, how I functioned, how I related to others. 

How I functioned with those around me. 

It's kind of a constant battle inside for me though. One part of me is hyper aware of everyone around me. I want to instantly include everyone I meet into my circle. I want to make them feel included. I want to bring them in. 

The other part of me knows my limits. I know that I can only be stretched so far, before I reach my breaking point. It's important to point out that some people I've "included" in my circle in the past have stretched me too thin- thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread as Tolkien so delicately puts it. They've worn me out, due to the fact I want them to feel so included and apart of my circle of influence. I've had to figure out who is in my circle of influence and who is in my inner INNER circle. Thankfully; maturity & people speaking wisdom into my life have helped me realized that I only have the bandwidth of about 3 solid friends for my inner INNER circle.

There's some drawbacks of being an INCLUDER.  When people meet me I get the look of (insert emoji HERE): 

"Are you for REAL?"  

I know there are many people out there who are INCLUDERS, but when I meet new people I sense this perception of: 

no one can be this FRIENDLY. 

no one could be this NICE.

I've come to terms and accepted the fact that being an includer could be an enigma to many.

But here's the deal:

I want to include you. It's for REAL. 

Can I include you?

Will you be in my circle of influence?

Have you taken the StrengthsFinder test?

What are your STRENGTHS?

When I was about 16 years old, I had this crazy idea. It was a crazy, insane and courageous idea. I was going to try out for the varsity basketball team at my small high school. Here's the best part of it all: I had never ONCE played on any recreational or school team in my life. The little experience I had under my belt was playing basketball with my dad & my brothers from the ripe age of 8, when I first started living in my adoptive home.

My dad instilled into my brothers & I our love for basketball at an early age. He would get us out on the backyard basketball court almost every night playing 2 on 2 basketball; my dad & I on one team, my brothers on the other. The most hilarious part of it all was that when my brothers defended me they had to ALWAYS have one hand behind their back (to give me an advantage because they were taller than me) and when I defended them, I could use any force necessary to "shut them down" as my dad would put it. This often included me slapping my brothers in the face, torso, legs; yelling right in their face, climbing on their backs when they tried to shoot the basketball. Good times. 

Both of my brothers went on to start on varsity basketball their freshman year in high school and played all four years. Each of my two brothers had a great three point shot, excellent court vision for plays and both were inspirational team players. 

I was always inspired by them and the teams they played on at school, and when I turned 16, I wanted what they had. So, that fall after my 16th birthday I tried out for the girls varsity team. Did I make it? No. I did make junior varsity though and had the time of my life during my junior year of high school.

One of the many reasons I probably ended up on junior varsity was the fact I was about five foot three and weighed 83 pounds. Because I was lean and scrawny, I got hit around on the basketball court like a rag doll. I earned the name "Gumby", because of my stature and the simple fact of every time I got knocked down, hit, pulled or pushed around:

I got right back up each time and continued to play. 

I had great defensive skills (learned early on playing basketball with my brothers) yet my offensive skills were seriously underdeveloped. I had an incredible sense of fear shooting the basketball, worried I would miss the shot or the ball would be stolen from me when I would shoot the ball (I was the second shortest on the team). One day, I started sharing this with my dad and he told me something I would never forget:

"Vi. Did you know? You can get an opportunity to score even if you don't personally have the basketball? It's with the screen (or pick as he would call it) you can get the shot, the foul shot. You can get the foul just by standing there, with your feet planted firm, hands over your chest. If you are in the right place at the right time, you set the screen for your teammate with the basketball, you can draw the foul when and if the defensive player runs into you. If she pushes you down or runs into you,  you get to shoot the free throw shot. You get the opportunity. "

This whole concept opened my eyes. I started working on my free throw shot like crazy. I started practicing the screen with the 2 on 2 basketball games I would play with my dad and my brothers. 

And guess what? It finally clicked. After a bit of effort, I got the hang of how the screen worked. I would stand with my feet firm on the ground and if I would get pushed down and get fouled; I would get back up for the opportunity to shoot the basketball. I would get back up for the opportunity I worked so hard to get. 

Do you ever feel like this in your life? Like you are practicing over and over again. Working like a mad person at what you love to do. Pushing yourself to the limit to get to where you want to go. And then you get pushed down. You get fouled.

Guess what? 

You can get right back up. 

Even when your feet are firmly placed on the ground, you can get knocked down.

Those times you are pushed down, pushed to your limit are difficult. Not easy. Not always nice. 

But you can get right back up every time for the opportunity to do what you love. To take that shot and start all over again. 

You can make the opportunity. You don't need anyone to give it to you. 

It's not easy. You WILL get knocked down in the process. 

What I've learned from this simple lesson is that when you get knocked down, sometimes that's the greatest opportunity to get back up and take that shot at what you've worked so hard at. Don't let it stop you from what you love to do. 

Don't give up when you are knocked down. 

Don't forget you can get back up.

Every time.

__________________________________

here's an visual example of getting fouled on the screen with Lebron James and Carlos Boozer: Carlos Boozer sets the screen for his teammate, LB fouls Carlos Boozer, albeit a flagrant foul, but a foul no less.

"This is a injustamacation!" ~an angry man somewhere in Georgia circa 2010

My husband worked at U-haul about 5 years ago for about a year. He was a customer service rep for scheduling trucks to rent for moving. Periodically he would receive calls from customers who would be very upset about their rental not being available for one reason or another. One particular phone call my husband received was from a very angry and irate man somewhere in Georgia. As my husband answered the call all he could hear at first was a woman screaming. Then he heard a man start to talk. He was incredibly upset that he couldn't get the words out right because his U-haul that he scheduled to use wasn't available to rent. Which is completely understandable. Did you know that on the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, moving is in the top thirty stressors in a persons life? 

The man from Georgia was trying to express to my husband how frustrated he was with the situation, but his words kept flowing out wrong. He finally stated to my husband, "this is a injustamaction!" and at that moment my husband had to mute the line (which he was taught in 
training, mind you) to keep the man from hearing any laughter on the other end of the phone call. 

Do you ever wish you could do just that? 

Mute injustices you hear in your life?

Mute injustices you see in your life?

I was chatting with a friend the other day about this particular subject and how we have this innate ability to see things that are "just ain't right" and wish and pray that we could have a bigger impact on social injustices than we we were having. Right then and there as we were chatting I began to wish I had these super human powers: indestructible gold bangles, a gold lasso that whips the forces of evil into submission, and of course a rad red, white and blue cape. Just like Wonder Woman. Fighting off the forces of evil encouraging the injustices in this world. 

It really got me thinking about what I could do with my life to have an impact outside of my circle of influence.

It got me thinking of some ways to really be purposeful and mindful of this in my life and gathered a few ideas:

share your thoughts with others.
Don't be afraid to share what you see as an injustice. Martin Luther King Jr said it perfectly,
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” When we are silent, injustice stays in the darkness. When we voice the injustice and become apart of it of the change; it brings it into the light. Others may have the same passion as you. It brings people together for a common cause. Purposeful things can happen out of you sharing your thoughts about what matter, what you want to see change in this world. Change can happen. It starts with you. It starts with me.

choose something to be apart of. 
What gets you passionate enough to want to make a change in this world? Is it human trafficking? Is it girl against girl bullying/guy against guy bullying? Is it giving woman in foreign countries the opportunity to make money on their own and support their family just as Proverbs 31 empowers women to go and do? I truly believe that fighting injustice means getting angry about the things that matter, righteously. Think about the injustices that get you to the point of "wanting to overturn the tables"  What is it? Be apart of it. 

be purposeful in giving gifts.
I love giving gifts with a purpose. Think of it like this: buy once, give twice. You may have heard of these wonderful companies, TOM Shoes, founded by Blake Mycoskie to give a pair of shoes to someone in need from every shoe purchased through the company, adding up to 35,000 shoes a year to people in third world countries. Another great one is Warby Parker, an online eye wear company with three flagship stores in L.A, New York and Boston. With each pair of glasses purchased from Warby Parker, all only $95, the company totals the amount and donates to their non-profit partners. The company also uses the donations to train people in third world countries to give basic eye exams and resources to sell eye wear at affordable prices. There are thousands and thousands of more companies (I've listed some of my favorites below and the links) that offer the concept of "buy one give one" .  Find one that fits what your passion is. Embrace it and give freely.

do SOMETHING.
By this I mean do something with purpose. Go on a trip locally, regionally or globally to support an organization you see fighting injustice. Get involved with a non-profit. Heck, start your own non-profit. Raise money with a Kickstarter campaign for a cause you are passionate about. Don't stand on the sidelines waiting for someone else to start something. Don't wait for someone else to inspire you. Be the one who inspires.


What social injustice programs do you support?


What causes are you passionate about?

Here are a few of mine~
Kind Campaign kindcampaign.com (bringing awareness and healing of girl against girl bullying)
31 Bits 31bits.com (using fashion and design to empower women to rise against poverty)
A21 Campaign A21.com (fighting the injustice of human trafficking of women)
TheBraveCollection.com (handmade jewelry from Cambodia to empower women across the globe)
TheDaveThomasFoundation.com (finding forever families for children in foster care)